I am told that Boris Johnson harrumphed his way through the Cabinet’s reading of Theresa May’s Brexit speech on Thursday. As I write in The Sun this morning, one minister complained to me ‘it is very hard to concentrate with him making all that noise’.
Listening to Mrs May yesterday, you could see why Boris Johnson was harrumphing. There were things in it that are hard to swallow for those who want to ‘take back control’. The decision to try and stay in the European Medical, Chemical and Aviation Safety agencies essentially makes the UK a rule taker in all those sectors of the economy.
But May was clear that the UK was not going to stay in any kind of customs union with the EU. She is also trying to preserve the UK’s right to break from EU rules in future without having to ask permission.
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